Spring
by Tolle Erik Koenig
Summary: Sequel to A Trip in Tatsumiya.Tolle finds out his trust has been betrayed by Miriallia.Canon fills in the gap. Will it turn out for the better or worse?Read ATtT before reading this. Relies heavily on ATtT's plot. Please review!
1. Live

Spring – the sequel to _A Trip to Tatsumiya_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights. All copyrights belong to respective copyright holders.**

Characters:GS: Athrun Zala

Dearka Elsman

Kira Yamato

Meyrin Hawke

Miriallia Haw

Shinn Asuka

Tolle Koenig

Yzak Joule

SnF:Canon Memphis

Kasugai Koyo

Kazuki Makabe

Kenji Kondo

Maya Toomi

Sakura Kaname

Shoko Hazama

Soushi Minashiro

Eva:Asuka Langley Soryu

Mana Kirishima

Author's notes:

Goodness, this is the first time I'm trying to blend so many series into one fanfic! Please do post your reviews and tell me how I can improve. Thank you!

I would also like to say that I may falter in some places. My sincere apologies, since I am still new.

Also, I am NOT a supporter of same-sex marriages.

Spring Chapter 1: Live

21st March, CE 75.

It was a joyous occasion, as many would like to believe. It was a marriage on Tatsumiya Island. However, this was no ordinary one. This was the very first time since the Constitution was amended to allow same-sex marriages. Although he would have never allowed it if he had the choice, Tolle Koenig had to accept the fact that the world was rapidly changing. Not too long ago, Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato also got married, here too. The whole of Terminal had decided to settle here back in autumn, bringing the likes of Athrun, Kira, Yzak Joule, Shinn Asuka, Meyrin Hawke, and… Dearka Elsman. Dearka Elsman. Although the rest of Terminal had known this long ago, Tolle didn't know this: Dearka and Miriallia had been dating quite some time ago, back in CE 71, after Tolle was presumed dead. Although Tolle did suspect something fishy back when he joined Terminal's research and development department, he never had the time to follow up on those gut feelings. Right till now.

Everyone living on the coastal side of Tatsumiya was invited to this grand marriage. As it was so grand, the only place deemed suitable for such a celebration would be… Alvis' convention hall. Alvis was the only place in the whole of Tatsumiya boasting a convention centre. When the whole congregation had arrived for cocktail, Miriallia left Tolle to join Dearka. This was only the beginning. Tolle had sensed something fishy again. It was not that Athrun and Kira were together. That he had come to get used to, but rather, it was the way Miriallia acted around Dearka. Where in his presence, Miriallia would try to be every bit the dignified lady that one had come to expect of the Haw family, she threw that all aside in Dearka's presence, turning flirty and raucous in a flash. Tolle could not understand this.

Till now, the rest of Terminal had managed to keep the happenings onboard the Archangel from Tolle. Whenever he asked for recordings of the security cameras on the Archangel, he would be answered by a "And what for?" by the Public Relations Executive, Kira Yamato, who was also in charge of the recordings and other materials which, in Terminal's opinion, was to be kept away from prying eyes. So Tolle didn't have a single idea to what had happened while he was recuperating in Stockholm, Sweden. He had also taken the time to attain a degree in Psychology while at Stockholm. He realized, after some time in Terminal, that everyone had something to hide from him, but the reasons were unclear to him. But for the Terminal Executive Committee, this was all in good faith.

Over at another corner, Kira had remembered the time Tolle had asked him for the recordings of Archangel's security cameras. He had answered with a curt "What for?" Actually, he knew that Tolle had wanted badly to see how Milly had been doing in Archangel at that time, the time after he was presumed dead. He wouldn't, for two reasons: Immediately after he was presumed dead, she had sunk into a state of despair and depression. Tolle would never want to see that, he reasoned to himself. The other reason: Dearka. Dearka and Milly had it going on quite well, this till the end of the war, and lasted right on till the Second. Where they broke apart. Milly was unusually cheerful on the outside, but Kira knew one thing – she was torn apart inside. Tolle would have blown up if he had seen that.

Athrun also had known a few more reasons. Tolle would not be able to cope if he had known it all. It would come as a tremendous shock to him, and God knows what he would do. Besides, if Tolle had known about Dearka and Milly being together, it would cause him to 'switch off', as Athrun had put it to the committee once during a meeting on whether the truth be told to Tolle. The decision was unanimous: He should be 'protected' from the harsh truth, as far as possible, and the members of the committee were bound to keep it under wraps if he had pursued the matter.

Tolle, on his part, had not pursued it with all his might: He knew that the whole committee was made up of exclusively freethinkers and atheists, and it would not be in his favor to force his way through, since he had known that, back on Heliopolis, he was pushed aside, being a Methodist and the main thought group there being Atheistic. Only Milly was different, she was Anglican, and that set her apart from the rest too.

Dearka, as everybody in Terminal knew, would lose the most if the truth was revealed. He would have been looked upon suspicion if Tolle had known of his relationship with Milly. Even though the committee had promised to give him protection lest anything untoward occur to him due to the truth being revealed, the committee had turned its back on Sai Argyle too, after Kira had found out about his relationship with Flay. Although everyone had known it all along, Kira had used this to get Sai, who was 'a thorn' in his eyes, out of the committee. If this could happen, no-one could predict what could happen to him.

As for Yzak, he had a share in keeping it from Tolle too. After Dearka and Milly got close, Yzak actually received kickbacks from Milly, who was on the committee before she left for Tatsumiya. It was only in his favor to keep the secret as it was. A secret.

Milly, knowing this was wrong in her deepest hearts of hearts, had tried to put it to Tolle, but it was so indirect, he had never thought it possible. Things like "Do you trust me?" and "What do you think of Dearka?" had never aroused Tolle's suspicion, so the committee had nothing to worry about. In fact, Milly had labeled Tolle 'dense' quite often.

During the whole wedding, Dearka and Milly were getting intimate with each other, not noticing Tolle right across the VIP table, seated next to Canon. Tolle had never understood this – Milly had always been that straight, demure girl in his presence, but with Dearka, it was a different story. She was extremely flirtatious and raucous, once telling Dearka that she would like to have 'some fun' with him, and Dearka agreed.

After the wedding, Tolle retired at home. There were weird noises coming from 547, Dearka's but he dismissed them as a drunk Dearka hitting stuff. But he was so wrong.

The next day, a Saturday, just outside his house, 550, residents were discussing about the resident at the end of the street – 555. 550 was in the middle of the street, stretching from 545 to 555. Everyone had gathered there to discuss the happenings of last night.

"Well, he's always been like that! Everyone knows he's a playboy!"

"But this time, it was extra-loud! What the heck could have happened?"

"Goodness, you don't know him do you? Every Friday night, he goes out drinking with the rest of 'e Terminal people from 552 right up to 554 – they come back first. He comes back just after midnight with a girl, and then have fun with her!"

"But he's now going steady with one of them!"

"Why, this time around, its Dr Toomi's 'other' daughter we're talking about!"

"You mean she has ANOTHER DAUGHTER? She already has 2!"

"This one was that Bertrand Mitsuhiro's daughter. So they say – she was given up for adoption later. That poor girl, she never knew who she really was. She was ONLY an ensign till recently. She's a Major now."

"Whatever the case, her poor guy, that one right in there, he hasn't got the slightest idea. He's such a great guy - and he's probably still thinking that the girl loves her – truth is, she's betrayed him at least 3 times!"

"Whoa, you only say that? I think she's two-timing him!"

"Guess we've gotta tell him!"

But by now, Tolle had gotten to the front door. His first words were "What's up, you all?", and inviting them into his house for a spot of tea.

One by one, the residents put together the story. From how Milly had been with Dearka since CE 72, which they found out from the residents from 552 to 554, the Terminal people, to now, where Milly and Dearka were having 'fun under the sheets' last night. Tolle slowly let it sink it, as the residents were looking rather intently at him.

Tolle pieced the parts together. But he couldn't figure what was going on, till Sakura Kaname, rather fed up with Tolle's denseness, blurted out: "Anta baka? Milly's cheating on you!" Finally, he got it.

He decided that before anything else, he had better get more evidence. And what better way than to hire Private Investigators?

So he called up a PI service company – EVA Private Investigators.

When they came to his house, they got an idea on what was happening. The two ladies hired for the job – Asuka Langley Soryu and Mana Kirishima had some tactics up their hands.

"Well, we're going to invite her over for drinks." Mana started.

"And we're going to dig the truth from her – we Germans all know – a drunken person can tell no lies!" Asuka added.

It seemed perfect. Now, with evidence, he had backing.


	2. Laugh

Spring Chapter 2: Laugh

6 April, CE 75

Mana and Asuka couldn't help but laugh out really loud when they found out the truth. They paid Tolle another visit, two weeks after the first time they arrived.

"You should know this one – your Milly had been betraying you for 3 years, and you are so DENSE not to notice this one!" Asuka rattled off.

"Besides, she's not really bothered about what you think!" Mana continued.

"Well, you know, we only have one thing to say – go and tell her it's over between you two – then get yourself a new girl!"

Tolle however was not laughing. He was rather depressed. How could Milly do this to him? He never thought this possible. Never. Things only got worse during the week.

It was Sunday when the PIs told him the reality. He took sick leave for the week. On Monday, Milly admitted to him, a whole 3 months since he turned up in front of her. And in those 3 months, as well as the almost 3 years before, she had been cheating on him. She didn't show the slightest bit of remorse – she was cheerful and told Tolle to 'get on!'

To make matters worse, on Tuesday, Kira told him, in an upbeat manner, to get dating again. Wednesday came, and Athrun told him the same. Thursday came, and Shinn and Meyrin did the same. 'What's wrong with them?' Tolle had asked himself after every call.

It's not everyday that you get bad news so many days in a row. But Tolle did. Even on Friday, more bad news came. Milly was pregnant, Kira informed Tolle. And he hadn't gotten to the end yet. On Saturday, he overheard Dearka informing Athrun and Yzak of his wedding plans. Tolle, who was also the head of the lay ministry in the church in Tatsumiya, did not turn up on Sunday, having been too sick to come. He was well and truly ill. According to Canon, the second-in-charge of the ministry, he had broken down. 

Even so, the barrage of bad news never ceased to flow. When he returned to work on Monday in Alvis, he received an invitation to Milly and Dearka's wedding in May. On Tuesday, he received the news that Terminal and Alvis were to merge, and Tolle's department would merge with Dearka and Milly's. By Wednesday, the move was done. He, however, did not attend the conference concerning the matter, having not fully recovered from the shock of last week.

By Thursday, he was back at home, and suddenly, all he remembered seeing was Maya flirting to get his attention, before he blacked out.

Tolle was warded at the top hospital in Tatsumiya – Tatsumiya Regional General Hospital. He was diagnosed with extreme stress – the result of the news of the past week or so. He was extremely fragile, the doctors warned his visitors. But it was only Canon that was there to visit him.

Only then did she find out the root of the problem: They promised to keep themselves for each other – but Milly broke it after Tolle was presumed dead. She was speechless – usually it would be the male who broke it – but it was Milly in this case.

She had realized something else – suddenly, there was a new guy to chase after! Since Kazuki was out of the race, she was free to go after Tolle.

When Tolle returned to work on Wednesday, 23 April, after a whole week in hospital, he requested a transfer from Research, which he was in, to Management, where Canon and Maya were the directors. After all, they were the only ones who actually bothered to visit him. Also, on that day, he received another invitation: Sakura and Kenji were celebrating their 1st wedding anniversary in May.

Canon thought it prudent to shift in with Tolle, since he an empty bedroom, (meant for guests, actually), and he would be lonely without company. It was just another way for Canon to get closer to Tolle. He didn't pay much attention to Canon actually.

Another week passed, and Tolle was given permission to transfer on Monday, and he was to be the overall director of the department. It was when Tolle actually noticed Canon was trying to get his attention. Slowly, over the week, icy as he may be to Canon, Tolle accepted Canon's advances. He thought it harmless, and didn't really seem affected. But, actually, he was happy. Really happy.

The rain fell heavily on Tuesday, and Tolle was driving home in his Volvo C70, when Canon, who usually would go out with Maya after work, asked Tolle to bring her home.

Along the way, she admitted to Tolle that she was actually really wishing to start a relationship with him. She had already missed an opportunity, which was Kazuki, and wouldn't like to miss this one. He took some time before he could understand what was going on – Canon liked him!

Over the days, the short-lived merger between Terminal and Alvis failed, and as such, the two organizations split up, and Milly's equally-short lived 'defection' to Alvis ended with her following Dearka back to Terminal. But Shinn and Meyrin stayed on taking over the now empty posts of Directors in the Research division, liking the environment in Tatsumiya. They were the first to notice that Tolle had recovered, and was back to his usual self, the only difference was that he was with Canon now. They thought it rather fine and dandy, and hopefully, Canon and Tolle would try to get it together.


End file.
